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Birmingham Public Library - Virtual Library - Subject Resources - United States History
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United States History
 
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Subjects last updated on Jul. 21, 2023.
United States History RSS
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Guide Information
Last Updated
Jan. 26, 2016
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Databases
Databases Useful for U.S. History Research
African American Studies Center
Description
The Oxford African American Studies Center provides students, teachers, and scholars with an authoritative and comprehensive source on the African American experience. The site is comprised of five major encyclopedias and content from eighteen additional reference sources from Oxford University Press, including more than 8,000 articles by top scholars in the field. The Oxford African American Studies Center combines the authority of carefully edited reference works with sophisticated technology to create the most comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture.
Availability
Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.
Tutorials
Guided Tour  Flash presentation.
Video Tutorial  Video tutorial by BPL on YouTube (length 6:45)
Congressional Publications
Description
The U.S. Serial Set, an ongoing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of Congress, captures every aspect of American life from the early 19th century onward, from farming, to westward expansion, scientific exploration, politics, international relations, business, and manufacturing. It includes Congressional reports and documents as well as executive agency and departmental reports ordered to be printed by Congress.
Availability
Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.
Alabama Episcopal Church Registers
Description
The Alabama Episcopal Church Registers database lists confirmations, baptisms, marriages and burials for more than 14,000 people in sixteen Alabama parishes for the period of the 1830s to the 1970s
Availability
Publicly Available.
CQ Researcher
Description
The award-winning The CQ Researcher explores a single "hot" issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports.
Availability
Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.
Alabama Inventors Database
Description
This database includes inventors who lived in Alabama at the time they received their patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Government Documents Department of the Birmingham Public Library has compiled these records and will add to and update them as information becomes available.
Availability
Publicly Available.
NewsBank: The Birmingham News
Description
Search the Birmingham News Archives from 1993 - today. Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from current and archived issues of the Birmingham News. Updated daily, it includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections. Read the paper in the original PDF or find content that was only published on the web. Available from inside the library or from home.
Availability
Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.
Obituary Index : Birmingham Area Newspapers
Description
The Obituary Index : Birmingham Area Newspapers database is an ongoing project of the Government Documents Department of the Birmingham Public Library. Obituaries from four Birmingham area newspapers are included: the Birmingham News, the Birmingham World, the Methodist Christian Advocate, and the Shelby County Reporter.
Availability
Publicly Available.
Sanborn Maps, 1867- 1970: Alabama
Description
Digital versions of large-scale maps of Alabama towns and cities. Fire insurance maps with data on structures in use at the time the map was made. Includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. Street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.
Availability
Requires a JCLC card and residence in Birmingham, AL.
Page Last Modified: 3/2/2026 11:12 AM

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